One hundred and fifty years ago, things were heating up again in Arkansas. As Confederate forces near Tulip, Arkansas were surprised by an attack by Federal forces under Powell Clayton, the Confederate force under the command of General Marmaduke planned a multi-pronged attack on the garrison at Pine Bluff. The Yankees had been making themselves at home in the Arkansas River valley community since September 14, 1863 and were poorly supplied and under manned. It was the perfect opportunity for an attack.

As Confederate forces neared Pine Bluff in the early morning on October 25, 1863, shots began to ring out as Federal pickets were driven in my the main column. The Battle of Pine Bluff began. The 5th Kansas Cavalry and the 1st Indiana held off the Reb advance all morning as the downtown courthouse square became a makeshift fortification made of cotton bales. As buildings and cotton bales were set ablaze by Marmaduke’s Confederates, the Contraband (freed slaves) formed bucket brigades and extinguished the fires, saving the day for the Federal Army.

Clayton’s 800 soldiers held back Marmaduke’s 2,000, resulting in 56 US casualties and 40 Confederate casualties.For the duration of the war, Pine Bluff remained in Federal hands and remained an important river port for supplying the Federal garrison.

2015 Battle of Helena

Donate Now

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The Seven Generals Sons of Confederate Veterans Camp in Helena, Arkansas needs your help in funding several historic projects. The camp plays an integral part in the maintenance of battle field sites and preservation of historic properties. A donation in any amount would be greatly appreciated and put to good use!

A list of the sites maintained by the Seven Generals Camp:
1) The Confederate Cemetery, where over 120 Confederates are buried, including General Patrick R. Cleburne, General James C. Tappan, and General Thomas C. Hindman.

2) Civil War Helena interpretative markers- we maintain over 50 historical interpretative panels throughout the city, including the battlefield, Confederate Cemetery, General Tappan's home, Battery C, and many other historic sites.

3) Confederate Memorial Park- We purchased and donated to the Sons of Confederate Veterans, Inc. in Columbia, TN approximately an acre of battlefield property that serves as a memorial to the Confederates that fought in and died in the Battle of Helena. Many soldiers are still unaccounted for and this park serves as their "marker". We maintain the park and the costs are mounting in maintenance, an electric bill to keep a light on the 1st National Confederate Flag that flies on a nice 25 foot pole overlooking Fort Curtis across the street.

4) We do living histories often and have a growing number of recruits that want to start re-enacting and doing living histories and interpretative programs. The costs of purchasing new and used Civil War re-enacting supplies are staggering. Any monetary or re-enacting supplies that can be donated would be appreciated.

If you would like to donate used or new re-enacting gear and supplies, we will take any items, even if they need to be fixed or mended. Re-enacting clothing items of all sizes and types needed, including hats. We have a youth program as well, so smaller sizes are welcomed as well. If you would like to donate supplies or equipment, mail it to Seven Generals Camp, PO Box 409, Helena, AR 72342.

The best part is that all items donated to the Seven Generals Sons of Confederate Camp #135's living history program are tax deductible! Upon the arrival of your donation, we will respond with our tax ID# for tax purposes.

Below are a couple choices in donating to the maintenance and preservation of Helena's battlefield:

-Make a one-time donation in any amount

-Make a donation on a regular basis. Those that donate $1000 over time will have their names on a sign of donors on Confederate Memorial Park and you will receive the Lt. William Rector Award, which includes a certificate and a medal. Over time we will start an endowment that will ensure the perpetual upkeep of historic Confederate sites in Helena.

Confederate Memorial Park- Helena, AR

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Because of the valiant support of dedicated individuals across the globe, the money has been raised for the purchase of Confederate Memorial Park in Helena, Arkansas.

We have taken a rare opportunity for the Sons of Confederate Veterans to own a core piece of battlefield and made it a reality! Located in Helena, Arkansas directly across from Fort Curtis and to the side of a Civil War era home (Moore-Hornor Home), both properties of which are maintained by the State of Arkansas (Delta Cultural Center) is approximately an acre of core battlefield that backs up to the site where General Price's troops made an attack on Fort Curtis on July 4, 1863.

On March 15, 2013 the General Executive Committee of the Sons of Confederate Veterans met in Biloxi, MS. At this meeting it was decided that the property will be donated to the SCV- This is a much-needed heritage victory in the Delta!

Your support is greatly needed!
Mail a check or money order today to:

Seven Generals Camp #135
PO Box 409
Helena, AR 72342

Your donation is tax-deductable!

ALL donations are tax-deductible!

The Arkansas Toothpick is the largest repository of Arkansas Civil War history and heritage. Observing the 150th Anniversary of the War Between the States is a task that the Toothpick does not take lightly, as we have posted original and exclusive articles on events in Arkansas on a weekly and chronological basis since 2010 (150 years after 1860). The purpose of the "150 Years Ago..." articles, written and researched by Ron Kelley and Don Roth, is to give a true reflection of the political, martial, and other aspects of Arkansas history leading up to and through the American Civil War.

Boasting of over ONE MILLION visitors, the Arkansas Toothpick has serves as a Civil War hub for historians and the general public. Our FACEBOOK page has nearly 1,000 FB Friends and counting, complete with live updates of Arkansastoothpick.com.

Professional Geneologist

If you are looking for information on your ancestors or want to locate a lost relative and need a professional geneologist, the Arkansastoothpick reccomends:
Crystal Truman Batson
501-200-0717
crystalsconnections@gmail.com

2015 Battle of Helena

Perfect Civil War Gift for under $10!

CLICK THE PICTURE ABOVE TO PURCHASE BOOK (available in paperback)

New book on pre-Civil War Arkansas

CLICK THE PICTURE ABOVE TO PURCHASE BOOK (available in paperback and Kindle)

Diary of a State: 1860 includes:

* over a dozen photographs and sketches

* the entire revised 1860 Arkansas militia code

* an index of militia units in Arkansas, their commanders, and county from which they hailed

* an index of Historical Places in Arkansas, many of which do not exist anymore

This volume is an absolute MUST for anyone interesting in the Civil War in Arkansas.

Diary of a State: 1860 contains documents ranging from newspaper articles from several prominent publishers in 1860 as well as government documents from the state and several counties, diary entries, and others. This book is not meant to act as a narrative history of Arkansas, nor is it a definitive work, but rather it gives the twenty-first century reader a chronological glimpse of forgotten rhetoric and politico.

Many of the authors of these documents have been long-forgotten and this book brings back to life those personalities and events that have gone unnoticed over the past one hundred and fifty years.

Get your Arkansas SCV car tags today!

If your car tags expire this month, consider replacing your current tags with the new Arkansas Division of the Sons of Confederate Veterans license plates! The plate can be purchased by anyone registered in the state of Arkansas- NOTE: you do NOT have to be a member in the Sons of Confederate Veterans to purchase this plate. Most Arkansas Revenue Departments around the state were issued these new license plates and should be available in your area!
Do not forget to get your new Sons of Confederate Veterans plate when you renew your tags! Funds raised by the sell of these plates will go to educational outreach and preservation of Southern heritage in Arkansas.
If you have any questions, contact Tom Bird at: 501-388-3805 or email:wtbird77728@yahoo.com.

Tour the Battle of Helena, Arkansas!

Delta Heritage Tours in Helena has on staff Ron Kelley and Don Roth, both Arkansastoothpick historians that research and write the 150th columns for over twenty newspapers statewide. The Civil War in Helena tours cover all the Confederate approaches to the Battle of Helena, Batteries A,B,C,and D, Freedom Park, Fort Curtis, and the Confederate Cemetery. This comprehansive tour gives the heritage tourist a first-hand knowledge of the Battle of Helena on July 4, 1863. Tours last at least three hours. For your custom Civil War tour, call Delta Heritage Tours: 870-995-2698.

Life Member-SCV
Terry's Texas Rangers Camp 1937

Patrick Ronayne Cleburne (1828-1864)

"I am with the South in death, in victory or defeat. I never owned a Negro and care nothing for them, but these people have been my friends and have stood up to me on all occasions.

In addition to this, I believe the North is about to wage a brutal and unholy war on a people who have done them no wrong, in violation of the constitution and the fundamental principles of the government. They no longer acknowledge that all government derives its validity from the consent of the governed."

"If this cause that is so dear to my heart is doomed to fail, then I pray heaven may let me fall with it, while my face is turned toward the enemy and my right arm battling for that which I know to be right."

Charge to the Sons of Confederate Veterans

"To you, Sons of Confederate Veterans, we will commit the vindication of the cause for which we fought. To your strength will be given the defense of the Confederate soldier's good name, the guardianship of his history, the emulation of his virtues, the perpetuation of those principles which he loved and which you love also, and those ideals which made him glorious and which you also cherish."

On the history of war...

Next the statesmen will invent cheap lies, putting the blame upon the nation that is attacked, and every man will be glad of those conscience-soothing falsities, and will diligently study them, and refuse to examine any refutations of them; and thus he will by and by convince himself that the war is just, and will thank God for the better sleep he enjoys after this process of grotesque self-deception.
~Mark Twain